[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 73 (Wednesday, April 28, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S2267]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                      Nomination of Samantha Power

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, as I have said many times in the past, 
Presidents should be given a good deal of discretion when choosing 
their political appointees, and so long as their nominees are qualified 
and do not obstruct the advice and consent process, the Senate should 
not stand in the way of their confirmation.
  After all, Presidents are ultimately responsible for the actions of 
their administration. And if the buck truly stops at the Resolute Desk, 
they need to be able to trust their subordinates to get the job done.
  That being said, I now come to the point of my coming to the floor; 
that I must vote no on the nomination of Samantha Power to be Director 
of USAID.
  On February 18, I sent a letter to Ms. Power asking questions 
regarding emails that came out of her office during her time serving as 
U.N. Ambassador.
  Heavily redacted versions of those emails obtained by my office 
appear to suggest that Ms. Power's staff may have been working behind 
the scenes to remove the Islamic Relief Agency from the U.S. Treasury 
Department's sanctions list.
  That organization was placed on the sanctions list for what? 
Funneling money to terrorist groups, and, thus, removing it would allow 
that organization to receive private donations as well as taxpayer 
funds.
  In her letter responding to my questions, Ms. Power claimed that she 
was not working to take the Islamic Relief Agency off the sanctions 
list. She further claimed that the emails in question were part of an 
effort to challenge false claims made by the Islamic Relief Agency at 
the U.N. denying their involvement in terrorist financing.
  In order to verify her claims, I have requested, on multiple 
occasions, that she provide unredacted copies of the emails and 
complete answers to the questions that I posed in my original letter.
  But after 3 months, all I have received is a collection of public 
press releases. I have not received the emails I requested. I have not 
received answers to my questions.
  Normally, political appointees and nominees wait until after they are 
confirmed to start ignoring congressional inquiries, but in this case, 
it seems the Executive branch has decided advice and consent is going 
to be a mere formality, and there is no need to wait. This seems to be 
a pattern.
  For instance, I asked the Secretary of HHS a number of specific 
questions for the record as part of the Finance Committee vetting 
process. I received responses that didn't even try to answer the 
substance of my questions.
  I also asked Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to reconcile some 
conflicting information on her House financial disclosures and 
responses to questions for the record for the Energy Committee about 
her taxes. They weren't gotcha questions either. In fact, it was 
probably innocent mistakes on her part, if anything, but Secretary 
Haaland declined to respond at all.
  Maybe the White House figures simply that they don't need Republican 
votes so they don't need to answer even routine vetting questions from 
Republicans, but then the White House can't blame Republicans for 
voting no on their nominees when they ignore our oversight questions.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Massachusetts.


                              S.J. Res. 14

  Mr. MARKEY. Mr. President, the methane problem is not a new one. It 
has quickly and drastically warmed our planet since the Industrial 
Revolution, and today it accounts for one-quarter of global warming.
  We have no time to lose. In the short term, methane is more than 80 
times more powerful and damaging than its better known cousin named 
CO2.
  And while we have made more progress reducing our carbon dioxide 
levels, methane pollution has continued to surge in the background. 
Even last year, with more cars off the road and many stuck in their 
homes, methane pollution levels just kept rising.
  And it rose in record amounts. In 2020, we saw the largest ever 
annual increase in methane emissions. If we continue to fail to act, 
methane pollution from the oil and gas industry is projected to cause 
as much near-term global warming as 260 coal-fired powerplants every 
year by 2025.
  This is a crisis brought on by humanity, but, thankfully, it is one 
that we can solve as well by humanity. We have the technology and we 
understand the science and we need now to summon the political will and 
the regulatory leadership in order to solve this methane problem.
  Last week, I sent a letter to President Biden asking him to lead the 
world in developing a bold domestic methane strategy, and although the 
administration's economy-wide goals for greenhouse gas emissions are a 
good baseline start, we need robust and specific targets for methane.
  By voting today to rescind the Trump-era attacks on methane 
regulations, we can protect the Clean Air Act instead of undermining 
it. By reinstating strong standards, we can protect public health and 
create new jobs in detecting and repairing leaks. By taking a stand 
today for environmental progress and good governance, we can begin to 
repair the immense damage done by Donald Trump. He was an enemy of 
science, a roadblock to progress, and a willing saboteur of American 
jobs and health as long as he could pursue his anti-environmental 
agenda.
  Today, we have an opportunity to recommit to climate action and to 
environmental justice. The COVID-19 pandemic has helped expose the 
deep, systemic, and historic injustices our communities of color and 
low-income neighborhoods continue to face, communities like those in 
Chelsea, MA, which has been affected by both poor air quality and some 
of the highest COVID-19 infection rates in the State and the Nation, or 
Weymouth, MA, which grapples daily with the public health and public 
safety threat of a natural gas compressor station.
  Big oil and big gas corporations have used places like Weymouth as a 
way station for pollution, without fear of reprisal for emissions of 
methane and toxic compounds. This week, we can stand up for justice for 
these communities instead of idly standing by.
  By passing this resolution on the floor this afternoon, we can make 
real progress for the climate, for our global community, and for all 
Americans who breathe different air because of their race, their ZIP 
Code, or their income level.
  In Massachusetts, Ralph Waldo Emerson said that health is the first 
wealth. Today's vote is a decisive victory for our families. It will 
give the Biden administration the tools it needs to shut in this 
methane for a very inexpensive cost to the oil and gas industry, 
providing real benefits to the health of our planet and the health of 
families in our country. As a result, I urge an ``aye'' vote on that 
CRA